The present invention relates to a method of determining an electrical property of a test sample. The present invention further relates to a system for determining an electrical property of a test sample.
Related methods and systems may be found in publications such as DE 27 26 982 A1, DE 42 31 392 A1, JP 52 062479, DD 110 981 A1, US 2004/0183554, U.S. Pat. No. 6,943,571, U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,252, U.S. Pat. No. 5,691,648, U.S. Pat. No. 6,747,445, US 2005/0151552, US 2005/0081609 and US 2005/0062448. Reference is made to all of the above-mentioned patent publications, all of which are hereby incorporated in the present specification by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
When performing the method according to the present invention, e.g. by using a system according to the present invention, preferably a probe for testing or determining an electrical property of a test sample is used. The probe may comprise a probe body and a tip supporting part supporting a first plurality of electrical conductive tips. The tip supporting part may extend from the probe body and the probe may further include electrical conductive paths connected to each of the first plurality of electrical conductive tips for establishing electrical contact from a test apparatus to each of the electrical conductive tips. The test apparatus preferably includes a signal generator and a measuring device, such as a current source and a voltage voltmeter.
The base part of the probe is to be attached to, or held or supported by, a probe carrier in a test apparatus, comprising signal generator, detection and/or measuring circuits, display or other output unit for outputting measuring results, input devices for receiving input for controlling measurements, storage medium for storing measurement results and/or communication devices for establishing communication with other devices, such as computers and/or servers, the test apparatus may comprise further devices or units.
The tip supporting part supports a number of tips that are preferably electrically conductive for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the test apparatus through the device or sample that is being tested. The signal may be a RF, HF, DC, AC signal or any other type of electrical signal. The signal is preferably transmitted via the conductive paths from the test apparatus to the test sample or device. Also contact pads may be provided for establishing electrical contact from the test apparatus to the conductive paths on or in the probe.
Also, the tip supporting part may be constituted by a multitude of probe arms each supporting at least one conductive tip. One probe arm may e.g. support two tips while another supports only one. Presently it is preferred that a probe used in the method and/or system according to the present invention has a plurality of probe arms each supporting a single conductive probe tip. The probe may advantageously include 4 or more probe arms, such as 12 probe arms.